


When You Move, I'm Moved

by mylifeiskara



Series: t100 Fic for BLM Prompts [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dancer Emori, F/M, Musician Murphy, Step Up AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylifeiskara/pseuds/mylifeiskara
Summary: Emori has worked her ass off during her four years at Sanctum College to keep her place and prove her worth. She certainly won't let some stoner like John Murphy, who doesn't know the difference between a changement and an echappe, ruin her senior showcase.A Step Up AU
Relationships: Emori/John Murphy (The 100)
Series: t100 Fic for BLM Prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2105646
Comments: 16
Kudos: 20
Collections: The t100 Writers for BLM Initiative





	When You Move, I'm Moved

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AngstyBleuSkies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngstyBleuSkies/gifts).



> Hello! I'm working through filling all my BLM prompts. Thank you to Blue for prompting this idea!
> 
> I had not seen the movie Step Up before I took this prompt, but the idea of Murphy and Emori being reluctant dance partners sounded rather sexy, so I was like I'll take it!
> 
> Title is from [Movement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSye8OO5TkM&ab_channel=HozierVEVO) by Hozier.

Emori bounces up and down on the side of the room as she watches the group ahead of her perform the combination across the floor. She marks the arms as she watches them, hitting each position to the beat of the accompanist’s drum. It’s a standard combination, one her professor has given them before in this modern class.

Clarke chuckles next to her and Emori turns to frown at her friend.

“What?” she asks.

“It’s not like you don’t know the combination already,” Clarke answers.

Emori shrugs. “Doesn’t mean I can’t make it better before it’s my turn.”

“You say that like you’re not one of the best dancers in the department.”

“There’s always room for improvement.”

Clarke shakes her head before turning her attention back to the line moving forward in front of them as the next group makes their way across the floor. Emori moves up, though focuses her eyes on the group in the middle of the floor. She looks slightly past them and sees one of the janitors enter the room to take out the trash. It would be a normal occurrence if not for the fact that there’s a college-aged guy with him. Is he a student here? Emori’s never seen him before. He has a deep set frown on his face, as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.

She nudges Clarke to get her attention.

“Why is that guy following the janitor around?” Emori whispers.

Clarke looks over to the other side of the room. “Oh, him? That’s John Murphy. Apparently he was caught smoking weed in the dance auditorium and messed up one of the sets for the freshmen showcase, so now he has to do community service.”

“Does he go here?”

She nods. “Music major.”

Emori frowns. A music major? What was a music major even doing anywhere near the dance auditorium? She doesn’t have much more time to think about it before it’s her group’s turn to go across the floor. She counts out the beat of the drum in her head as she runs, arm circling as she drops to the ground, a shoulder roll over before standing again to stag leap and finish the combination with the rest of the group. By now they’ve reached the other side of the room, and she’s even closer to this guy than before. He eyes her as she goes to stand on the side with the rest of her classmates while the last group goes across the floor. He has a smirk on his face as he looks her over, though something else comes over his face as his gaze falls to her left hand. She crosses her arms to her chest, snapping him out of his staring.

Emori glares at him. “Do you need something?”

He shakes his head, not backing down. “No. You’re a good dancer.”

Emori rolls her eyes and joins Clarke on the wall. Clarke’s eyebrows are raised at Emori’s interaction.

“Tension,” Clarke remarks.

“Don’t be stupid.” John Murphy may be cute, but Emori has to focus. She’s come too far to lose her cool over some stoner boy who doesn’t seem to take anything seriously.

Emori has been dancing for as long as she can remember. Her mom enrolled her in classes when she was four, after a particularly rough day at school. Some of the children were needlessly cruel about Emori’s left hand, mocking her for something she was born with, a part of her that was beyond her control. Her mother thought the dance lessons would help to take Emori’s mind off of it, and to help her build confidence. Even though people might see her as a bit different from them, she could still shine in her own way.

The older Emori got, the more seriously she started taking dance. It was something she was good at and she was thriving and constantly improving. She never felt more in her element than on the dance floor after mastering a difficult combination or new step. She hoped to continue her training, but since her family was far from well off and all the colleges with good dance programs were expensive, she knew she’d have to land an amazing scholarship. Though Emori is nothing if not determined, and she became more focused than ever.

Luck would have it that Emori auditioned for Sanctum College, a school with one of the most prestigious dance programs in the country. Alumni from their dance program had gone on to dance professionally straight after graduation, thanks to their yearly senior showcase that invites representatives from dance companies across the country to watch the graduating class perform. Now that Emori’s a senior and each passing day inches closer and closer to senior showcase, she can’t lose her focus now. She’s so close to achieving her dream, of being able to call herself a professional dancer. She wants nothing more, and she can’t let up just yet. It would be stupid, an amateur move, to get distracted so close to the finish line.

They do one last across the floor combination before class is over. Emori applauds the accompanist with the rest of her classmates, before picking up her water bottle from the floor and heading out of the studio and into the hallway where her bag is. She goes to the cubby where she’s stored her bag, taking out her thick socks and pulling them back onto her feet. She puts on her boots and picks up her water bottle, going to the fountain to refill it. She stands in the line that’s formed behind the fountain, a normal occurrence after a two hour class. She stares into space out the window, though her eyes focus in on movement in the parking lot.

Emori raises an eyebrow as she sees the same guy that was in the studio earlier laughing with his friends outside. He seems to be mocking one of their combinations that he watched, imitating their moves to make his friends laugh. She rolls her eyes. This guy really doesn’t take anything seriously. She can’t help but continue to watch him, because oddly enough, he’s not a bad dancer. For someone who probably doesn’t know what a pirouette is called, he certainly executed one fairly decently. He’s actually pretty light on his feet.

“Emori!” comes a voice from behind her.

She turns to find Clarke and a few other people still in line for the water fountain, which is now free.

“Sorry,” she mumbles as she opens her bottle and steps forward.

“What were you looking at?” Clarke asks.

“Nothing. Just a squirrel.”

“A squirrel named John Murphy?”

Emori finishes filling her water bottle and turns to see a smirk on her friend’s face. She scoffs at her.

“He was making a fool of himself.”

“But you have to admit, he’s cute.”

“I will not admit that. And I don’t see why it matters. If he’s a music major and just helping out around here because he’s forced to, there’s no way I’m going to run into him again,” Emori declares. Sanctum College is a relatively small school, but it’s big enough that it’s possible to not see a person ever again.

“Will there ever be a day where you allow yourself to let loose?” Clarke asks as she fills her own water bottle?

Emori shrugs. “Maybe after senior showcase is over with.”

Clarke shakes her head, but lets out a chuckle. They get their bags and exit the dance studio in the direction of the dining hall, one of their post-class traditions. Emori’s glad to have a friend like Clarke in her corner. Clarke took dance lessons as a hobby for much of her life, focused on being pre-med in college, but she changed her mind in her senior year of high school and applied to a couple dance programs. Emori and Clarke had ballet together their first semester, and Clarke was struggling to keep up, so Emori offered to help her with some technique outside of class, and they’ve been friends ever since.

“Okay, but you have to at least let loose for a day when you come see me perform with Cillian,” Clarke says as they walk across campus.

“You’re still hanging out with Cillian?” Emori groans. “Clarke, that guy is way too old for you.”

“He’s only 26!”

“I just think there’s something wrong with a 26 year old wanting to hang out with a college student. Haven’t you ever wondered why he can’t seem to find a girl his own age?”

“You just have to get to know him, he’s really sweet.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

She lets Clarke keep talking about her weekend plans, some of which involve Cillian. Emori nods, as per usual, making up an excuse for why she can’t come out. She doesn’t like going out. Why go out when she can just have a glass of wine in her apartment? And she likes to get a head start on her homework for her non-dance related classes, though she doesn’t have many of those, this being her last semester. It’s still only Wednesday, so she has time before Clarke fruitlessly tries to convince her to come out on the weekend. It’s a wonder she hasn’t given in yet.

Wednesdays are also the day that Emori rehearses with Sterling, her dance partner for her senior showcase piece. He’s another senior in the dance department who’s very sweet and incredibly talented. She was lucky to snag him. Quite a few of the people in her workshop class opted to choreograph a duet for their piece, and there aren’t many men in their department, but Emori planted the seed for her and Sterling’s partnership at the end of last semester, so she was squared away before most people had even figured out what their dances would look like.

She heads back to the dance building after dinner. Emori’s reserved the studio for an hour and a half, and she has a few new combinations to teach Sterling, so they need to get in as much time as possible. She kicks off her boots and puts her bag in a cubby before walking into the studio. She’s happy to see Sterling already there, but her face falls when she looks down at the cast on his foot and sees crutches next to him.

“Sterling, what happened?” Emori asks.

“I slipped on ice and sprained my ankle,” he says with a grimace.

“When will you be back on your feet again?”

“The doctor said I should stay off of it for three weeks.”

Emori’s stomach drops. The showcase is in a month. How is she going to pull this off without rehearsal time with her partner?

“I’m really sorry about this, Emori. I should’ve been more careful,” Sterling continues.

“No, Sterling, it’s not your fault,” she reassures him. “I just want you to recover.”

“What are you gonna do about a partner?”

“I’ll figure it out. There’s still time.” She smiles, resting a reassuring hand on her friend’s knee.

**______________________**

“This is a fucking nightmare!” Emori groans, lying back on the floor of her apartment an hour later. “How am I going to figure this out?”

“With your resourcefulness and determination,” Clarke says from her spot on the couch.

“There are no other senior guys available and we’re a month out from the showcase.”

“You might have to use an underclassman guy. There are some decent ones from what I’ve seen.”

“I don’t need decent, Clarke. I need _amazing_. I need someone who can keep up with me.”

“Why don’t you reserve some studio space and hold auditions? That way you can see them all in action.”

“I guess I could do that.”

“Hey,” Clarke says. “If there’s anyone that can figure this out, it’s you. You’re gonna be fine.”

Emori nods, though she’s not at the point where she believes that.

Friday afternoon rolls around and Emori is standing in dance studio B holding auditions for a new partner. Quite a few underclassmen guys showed up, eager to be a part of senior showcase. She teaches them a quick combination, then takes notes on each participant as they go through the moves a few times. They know how to move, since they all got into the program, but Emori is still worried about them being able to keep up with her.

With the combination out of the way, she has each guy do some partnering with her one by one. Dancing solo is a lot different from dancing with a partner, and she needs to know that they can pull their weight with partnering work. A couple of the guys seem a little too eager, not wanting to share the spotlight. One guy even steps on her foot, and though he profusely apologizes, she doesn’t take kindly to it. It’s around this time that Emori hears a small snicker from the corner of the room. She frowns and turns to find John Murphy standing by the trash can.

Emori glares at him, but turns back to the underclassmen in the room.

“Thank you so much for coming out guys, especially when this was so last minute,” she says to the group. “I’m going to take the weekend to deliberate, but I’ll be sending out an email on Sunday.”

The guys clap before gathering their things and leaving the room. Emori lets out a groan once they’re all gone.

“That was a sad display,” John remarks from his corner.

Emori rolls her eyes. “Like you could do any better. What are you even doing here?”

“Believe me, this is the last place I want to be on a Friday afternoon. But maybe it’s for the best that I’m here.”

She folds her arms across her chest and studies him. What the hell is this guy’s deal?

“I could be your partner,” he finally says.

Emori laughs out loud. “You can’t be serious.”

He shrugs. “It’s not like you have a lot of options. And dance might not be my whole life, but I like to think I’ve got rhythm.”

She stares at him for another moment, still unsure if she should trust this guy. Does he think dancing with her will get him out of janitor duty? What if she says yes and he wrecks her piece? But he’s right. She doesn’t really have any other options. And she’s seen him dance, so she knows he can. Emori sighs.

“Catch me,” she says before running towards him.

John’s eyes widen. “What?”

Emori bends her knees and jumps forward as she nears him. John reacts quickly, holding out his arms to catch her around her waist before lifting her above his head. She’s in disbelief that that actually worked, especially considering he looks like he’s never lifted anything heavier than a joint in his life. He shifts her so that her hands rest on his shoulders and he lowers her down slowly, their faces close as her feet find the ground again. He seems to be just as shocked as she is at what he just did. They hold eye contact for another moment, Emori somewhat lost in his blue eyes before she remembers to breathe and steps out of his arms.

“I guess you’ll do,” she says before turning to exit the studio. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” he asks, running to catch up with her.

“The department head’s office to see if I’m even allowed to do this. And I take it you want to get out of trash duty.”

“That’d be nice.”

Emori grabs her bag and puts her shoes back on before motioning for John to follow her to the dance offices. She lets out a sigh of relief as she sees that Charmaine is still in her office, though she’s putting on her coat as they near her. She looks up with a disapproving smirk on her face.

“This better be good,” she says. Charmaine Diyoza is not one for games. Emori is thankfully on her good side, as an all-around good student, but this is still a big ask.

“I think I’ve found my new partner for senior showcase,” Emori answers, gesturing at John.

Charmaine raises an eyebrow at John. “Is this a joke?”

Emori almost wishes it were, but she shakes her head.

“I was thinking if he were my partner, he could use our rehearsals as his community service.”

“There are plenty of underclassmen boys who would love the opportunity to dance with you.”

“Charmaine, no offense, but I just auditioned quite a few of them, and none of them could keep up with me.”

“And stoner boy here could?”

“Weed isn’t my only personality trait, I’d just like to say,” John interjects.

“Don’t push your luck,” Charmaine says with a pointed look.

“I’ve seen him dance,” Emori admits. “And while he clearly has no classical training, I think we’d work well together. I think he’s what my piece needs.”

Charmaine looks between the two of them somewhat in disbelief, but rolls her eyes.

“Well, it’s your showcase. And I’d like to go home for the weekend. As long as Mr. Murphy here helps you rehearse, he is officially off janitor duty.”

Emori lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Charmaine.”

Charmaine nods before picking up her bag and disappearing down the hallway. Emori and John watch her in silence. Once she’s gone, Emori turns to her new dance partner.

“So,” she says.

“So,” he parrots back. “You’ve seen me dance?”

Emori’s cheeks heat up, realizing she’s given herself away. “I saw you messing around with your friends in the parking lot the other day. And it wasn’t completely terrible.”

He nods, a smirk spreading across his face.

“You don’t need to look so smug, you got what you wanted. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Thanks. So when’s our first rehearsal?”

“Monday. Email me your class schedule and we’ll figure out a time. And bring leggings or something, you can’t dance in jeans.”

John stares at her in disbelief. “Do I look like I own leggings?”

“You’ve got all weekend to get some.” She turns on her heels to leave the building. “Have a nice weekend, John.”

“Nobody calls me that, call me Murphy!” he shouts after her.

“Your name is John, I’m calling you John!” she answers back, not bothering to turn around. Emori’s glad to have found a partner, but it doesn’t mean she has to be friendly with this guy. They’re dancing together for her showcase and that’s it.

Emori sits on the floor with her legs in second position, her choreography notebook on the floor in front of her as she waits for John on Monday afternoon. Her stomach is in knots as she begins to doubt her decision to make this non-dance major her partner for her senior showcase piece. Maybe she could have coaxed a better performance out of one of those underclassmen. She should have tried harder to make one of them work. But she’d already sent an email to all of them saying she’d found a partner, so it’s a little late for this worry. Emori tries to put that out of her mind, as she looks over her notes.

John arrives a few minutes early, which Emori finds shocking. He’s not wearing leggings, but sweatpants, so at least he’ll be able to move.

“Are you warm?” Emori asks.

He shrugs. “I mean, I just came in from outside and it’s snowing. So no.”

“Well we can do a quick warm up, then.”

“Won’t I warm up when we start dancing?”

“Just humor me. I’m not about to lose another dance partner because he didn’t warm up in the dead of winter.”

She leads him through a simple ten minute warm up before picking up her notebook and looking through it to decide which combination to teach him first.

“We’ll do something simple to start off with,” she says. “So the first count of eight is a fan kick, then step and contract into a ball change before pushing off onto that same foot for a compass turn into a developpe tilt.”

She demonstrates the combination for him, turning to him when she’s finished to find his eyebrow slightly raised at her.

Emori rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips. “Can you do it or not?”

“I can try it,” he says, though his face doesn’t seem too sure.

“We’ll go slow, if you want.”

“Okay.” He comes to stand next to her.

“Five, six, seven, eight,” Emori says, counting them in.

She repeats some of the moves as John gets used to the movement in his body. Even going slowly, he seems uncomfortable. They’re foreign motions to him, and Emori’s a little worried maybe this was a mistake. She can see potential in him, but maybe she miscalculated how hard it would be to get a good performance out of him. Even once he seems to have the combination down, there’s still something off about the way it looks when he does it. But she doesn’t know how to fix it.

“Don’t get discouraged,” she says to herself as much as she says to him after about half an hour.

“This might just take some getting used to,” John admits. “But I’ve never really danced like this before.”

“Well how do you normally dance?”

He shrugs. “I just go with the flow. This is a lot more rigid than I’m used to.”

Emori tenses. “Rigid?”

“Stiff, boring. Any of those words would work as well.”

Emori takes a breath before she says something she’ll regret. She knows he doesn’t necessarily mean that as a dig against her, but she can’t help but feel offended on her choreography’s behalf. She spent half of last semester putting this piece together. It’s not necessarily how she pictured it, but she’s still immensely proud of it.

“Well, that’s sort of the style.”

“This is for your senior showcase, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t you think you’d stand out more if you did something that sets you apart from everyone else? I mean, I don’t know much about dance, but I’m sure not everyone is looking for the same old kick ball change.”

“Why don’t I just keep teaching you what I have and we’ll see if you can get that down before you start giving me pointers, huh?” Emori snaps.

John holds up his hands as if in surrender and complies for the rest of their rehearsal. Once they’re finished, Emori is quick to gather her things and leave the studio, not wanting to linger a moment longer with him, not when he’s being insufferable. She’s meeting Clarke for dinner, anyway.

“How was your first rehearsal?” Clarke asks as Emori nears the table she’s staked out in the dining hall.

Emori snorts as she puts down her bag and takes off her coat.

“That bad, huh?”

Once Emori has food of her own, she relays the details of what happened at rehearsal to her friend, letting out all her frustration into her telling of the story. She didn’t realize how much she had been holding in trying not to snap at John while they were working.

“I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into.”

“Well you can’t back out, now. It’s a wonder Charmaine let you use him in the first place.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me! She’d almost definitely say ‘I told you so’ if this didn’t work out. I’m not even mad that he didn’t pick up on the moves as quickly as I would’ve liked. I think I can help him through that. It was the way he called my choreography stiff and rigid. Like I’m some sort of stick in the mud,” Emori says.

Clarke stares intently down at her plate.

Emori rolls her eyes. “Just say it.”

“I mean, you do have some ‘stick in the mud’ tendencies, I won’t lie to you. And it sounds like he gave some okay advice.”

“Clarke, you can’t seriously be siding with John Murphy on this. The guy didn’t know what a _warm up_ was before this afternoon. Who is he to be giving me any sort of advice about the thing I’ve spent most of my life studying?”

“I’m not saying he should’ve said it,” Clarke adds. “I’m just saying maybe it was something you needed to hear. I mean, what happened to the grandiose idea you had for showcase? It was a lot more innovative than what you’ve got now.”

“I had to scale it back. Nobody would’ve said yes to helping me with that when they’re all busy with their own pieces.”

“Did you even ask?”

Emori pauses. She didn’t. Emori’s been so used to hearing the word ‘no’ that it made the most sense to not even waste her breath. Maybe that was another mistake she’d made. But it was too late to change any of that now. There’s only a month until the showcase, so she has to move forward with what she has planned.

“I’m sure I can get the piece that I have now up to standard by the time we have to perform.”

Clarke nods. “And who knows, maybe you’ll like Murphy by the end of this.”

Emori laughs out loud, almost choking on her pasta. “That’s funny.”

“Come on, you have to at least admit he’s cute.”

“Fine, he’s cute. Are you happy?”

“I will be after you tell me he’s a good kisser.”

“Then I guess you’ll be sad for the rest of your life, because that’s not happening.”

Clarke smirks, and Emori rolls her eyes at her friend. She’s being ridiculous. She’s not going to fall for John Murphy. It’d be bad form to get involved with her dance partner, anyway.

A few days into their partnership, Emori paces outside of the studio as the tap club rehearses. She hasn’t heard from John, and they were supposed to rehearse an hour ago. Anger bubbles in her veins, thinking about all the valuable time they’ve lost. She was almost finished teaching him the entire piece.

He runs into the hallway, cheeks bright red from being in the cold. He catches his breath as he stops in front of her, taking in the scowl on her face.

“Sorry I’m late. I got distracted doing my music production homework,” he says.

“You got distracted for a whole hour?”

“It’s part of my thesis, so yeah, I did. Geez, did you tie your bun too tight this morning?”

Emori scoffs. “You are unbelievable. This is _my_ thesis, John! It’s not going to be up to snuff if you don’t show up when it’s time for us to rehearse.”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Yeah, but we can’t rehearse. I only signed out the studio for an hour, and you missed our slot.”

“I’m sorry, alright?”

“Sorry’s not enough, John. I went out on a limb for you, I need you to take this seriously!”

He doesn’t say anything, though he has the decency to look a bit guilty, training his eyes on the ground.

“You know what, maybe it’s good that we have a day off,” Emori continues. “I’m feeling a little stuck on my piece anyway.”

He nods. “Okay.”

Emori doesn’t say anything else, just goes to her cubby and grabs her coat before heading out of the building. She’s too worked up to dance, stressed about how the rest of rehearsal is going to go now that she’s not sure she can trust her partner. Not that she trusted him to begin with, but she hopes this won’t make things too weird between them.

Emori walks with Clarke to the dance building the next day, Clarke pleading with Emori to come out since it’s a Thursday and she doesn’t have any morning classes on Fridays. Emori stops her when she notices John standing with the janitor on his smoke break.

“I didn’t realize Murphy and the janitor had become such fast friends,” Clarke wonders aloud.

“They didn’t,” Emori says with a frown. She takes a breath before making her way to them.

“Hey,” John says as she nears them.

“What are you doing?” Emori asks, skipping the pleasantries.

“Taking a break. What’s it to you?”

“Are you coming to rehearse?”

He frowns at her. “What do you mean?”

“Rehearsal? For my showcase piece? You said you’d be my partner?”

John gets up from the crate he’s sitting on and pulls Emori away from the janitor.

“You still want me to be your partner?” he asks, genuinely confused.

“It’s not like I have another option,” Emori says simply.

“I just thought after yesterday you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

Emori makes the mistake of looking in John’s eyes as he says this to her. There’s something there she’s never noticed before. Behind all that bite, that hard exterior, there’s something else. She’s not sure what it is, but she’s never seen this guy look vulnerable before, maybe even a little sad. Her stomach flips and she even feels a little guilty that she might have had something to do with that.

“Look. I don’t completely trust you. But you were doing good work, and I really need your help.”

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

Emori sighs, knowing she needs John, but not wanting to let him off the hook completely.

“You’ve got real promise, but you really need to work on your technique,” she explains. “I teach a class at the ballet studio downtown on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays. If one of the times works for your schedule, you should come.”

John nods. “Fair enough.”

“Now, will you come inside, please? We’re missing out on valuable rehearsal time.”

She doesn’t wait for him to answer, turning around and walking towards the building, but she smiles as she hears him say goodbye to the janitor and follow behind her. Emori feels slightly bad about not being completely honest about the dance class she teaches, but that doesn’t mean she’s not excited to see how John fares with a group of ten-year-olds.

**_________________________**

Time passes, and Emori is ready to begrudgingly admit that she enjoys John’s company. It probably helped that him doing plies amongst small girls was as comical as she thought it would be. It most definitely softened his hard persona, and he was surprisingly friendly to all of them, even though one girl wouldn’t stop shushing him every time Emori passed by and they started chuckling at each other.

The technique classes seem to help John. His movements become less stiff and more fluid as he gets used to them in his body. Emori even opens up enough to let him make suggestions for how he could modify some movements so the entire piece looks a bit more varied and interesting. This partnership is something Emori never would have predicted when she started her senior year, but now she can’t imagine what her days would look like without it.

“Not that I don’t love the music you’ve chosen, but have you ever thought about using something that matches the movements slightly less?” John asks one day at the end of their rehearsal.

Emori sips from her water bottle as she considers this. “I hadn’t, really. Did you have something in mind?”

“I could make something for you. Only if you wanted, though.”

“You’d do that for me?”

A blush spreads across John’s cheeks that Emori can’t help but smile at. It’s only slightly annoying that with each passing day he somehow gets cuter in her eyes.

“I mean, I have a few samples that could maybe work for this. But I figure why not use my music skills to your advantage? To help you stand out.”

Emori’s stomach flips at his crooked smile, holding his gaze for a moment before she ducks her head to hide her blush. She closes the top on her water bottle and clears her throat.

“Yeah, I’d love to hear what you had in mind.”

“I have my laptop with me, if you wanna take a listen right now?”

Emori nods, jumping at the chance to hang out with him outside of rehearsal. When did she get so excited at the prospect of spending more time than necessary with John? She pushes that thought down as she motions for him to follow her out of the studio.

“We’ll have to go somewhere else, since I only booked the room for an hour, and I’m pretty sure someone else is coming in after us.”

“Where do you wanna go?”

“I know a spot.”

Emori and John put on their coats and gather their things. She leads him across campus, far from the arts quad and onto the roof of the science building.

“This is one of my favorite spots on campus,” she says as she drops her bag on the ground. “I don’t remember how I found it freshman year, but nobody would think to look for me on the science quad. I come here when I need to think. And it’s where I choreographed a lot of this piece if I couldn’t use the studio.”

John’s eyes widen. “So you don’t bring just anyone here?”

She shakes her head. “You’re the first one.”

“Huh.”

Emori feels her face heat up. “What?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing. I guess I just wonder why me?”

“I don’t know. It just felt right. I don’t know how to explain it.”

He looks at her for a moment, something Emori can’t read passing over his face before digging into his bag for his laptop. He leans back on the wall next to the door as he sits. Emori stays standing, careful to keep her distance. She’s starting to second guess her decision to bring John to her secret place. What does this mean? She definitely trusts him now, but there must be more to it. Clarke doesn’t even know that she comes up here. Emori buries the thought down and continues pacing as John brings up his samples for her.

“Tell me what you think of this,” John says as he presses play.

The piece is slower than Emori expected it to be, though then again, she’s not sure what she expected from John’s music. It starts out quiet, picking up the pace slightly after a bit and swelling at the end. Emori’s impressed. She marks through a few of the moves from her dance as she listens, adapting it in her body to the new sound. It feels natural, like the song was made for her dance. She’s in awe at how well it works.

“John, this is amazing!” she says, a large grin breaking out onto her face.

He grins back. “Yeah?”

Emori nods. “I love it.”

He puts his laptop on the ground and gets up, joining her in the dance. Emori smiles as they move seamlessly together, having made leaps and bounds from their first rehearsal together. Trusting John Murphy is paying off in ways she never would have predicted. He lifts her as the music swells again, a chorus of voices echoing in the background. Once her feet are planted firmly on the ground again, she bends her knees and prepares for John to dip her in a circle, his arms holding firm on her back. He brings her back up again as the music fades out. Her breath catches in her throat as she finds herself inches away from John’s face. This is nothing new to Emori, they execute this move everyday. But there’s something different this time around, a spark, a palpable tension that makes her forget the next steps. John seems just as entranced, his eyes drifting slightly lower to her lips. Is he going to kiss her? Emori’s heart thrums in her chest, unable to break the moment.

“So something like that?” John murmurs, not moving his eyes from hers.

“Yeah, something like that,” Emori answers.

She steps away from him, finally remembering that John is still her dance partner, and she can’t mess this up. First and foremost they have to work together, and she doesn’t want to make things weird. Even if it seemed like he wouldn’t have minded. She doesn’t want to tempt fate, not when she’s so close to the finish line.

John runs a hand through his hair. “I can cut it so that it’s the right length. I’ll have it ready for rehearsal on Friday.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Happy to help. So you say you choreographed this whole piece up here?”

“I did. It was a lot different in my head, but of course I had to modify all of my big ideas to make it work.”

“What were your big ideas?”

Emori laughs. “You don’t want to hear them.”

“Sure I do. Indulge me.”

“I pictured it as a group dance, honestly. The main combination in a round, and then a portion to highlight myself, since that’s the point of everyone’s showcase pieces. But it was a pipe dream, honestly.”

“How so?”

“Everyone is busy with their own pieces. It would’ve been a bother to ask them to help with mine.”

“You make a lot of assumptions,” John says.

Emori opens her mouth to protest, then realizes she doesn’t have a leg to stand on, considering all the assumptions she made about him when they first met. And he’s done nothing but prove her wrong ever since.

“People can surprise you,” he continues.

“You certainly did,” she admits.

“Yeah, I tend to have that effect on people.”

They both laugh, before staring at each other again. Silhouetted by the few lights in the darkness, John is beautiful. Emori has never been so happy to be wrong about somebody. He is a barrel of constant surprises, and she finds herself wanting nothing more than to learn everything about him.

“I should probably get going,” he eventually says, breaking their silence. “I have some homework I should get started on.”

Emori nods, wanting nothing more than to stay here with him, in this world where they’re the only two people that exist. Instead she walks with him as he puts his laptop away and they get their things before walking back down the stairs of the building and onto the ground again.

“I’ll see you Friday, then?” she asks.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he says, flashing her that smile that makes her want to melt. “Good night, Emori.”

“Good night, John.”

Emori watches him as he walks back up the quad in the direction of his apartment. There’s no denying her feelings for him at this point, and admitting it to herself doesn’t fill her with as much dread as she would have expected it to. Instead she feels light, like this is something that could maybe work out. She’s never felt that before. They didn’t kiss, but she floats on a cloud on the way home as if they did. When did she get to be so far gone on John Murphy of all people? It’s unlike her in every way, but she doesn’t mind in the slightest.

**_________________________**

Emori frowns as she walks into the dance studio on Friday afternoon. There are already people in the room, but she’s certain she booked the studio for this time. John is standing to one side of the room, talking with Clarke. What’s going on? He spots Emori as she comes in and runs over to her.

“What’s all this?” she asks him.

“You said you pictured a group dance. So I got you a group.”

Emori is speechless. “What? How?”

“A bunch of carefully thought out emails. Now that’s something I don’t do for just anyone, mind you. I hate sending emails. But everyone wants to help.”

“John, I don’t know what to say.” She’s a little overwhelmed that he went to all the trouble to do that for her, especially when he doesn’t know anyone in the dance department. He must have spent a lot of time looking up their emails and figuring out who would be best to contact. Or maybe he had Clarke’s help.

“You don’t have to say anything,” John says, a small smile on his face.

Emori doesn’t say anything, opting to pull John in for a hug. They’ve never hugged before, and in this room of people she doesn’t have time to second guess the odd new form of intimacy. It shouldn’t make her stomach dip the way it does. They’re dance partners. Dancing is an intimate thing. But even though this hug is quick, it leaves Emori feeling dizzy, wanting for more. This is going to turn out to be a real problem.

“Thank you,” she says as she pulls away.

John’s cheeks go bright red, as if he doesn’t want to be acknowledged for the wildly nice thing he just did for her.

“It’s not a big deal,” he says.

“It is. And I appreciate it.” She takes his hand in hers and gives it a quick squeeze.

“So do you wanna start rehearsal?”

Emori grins and surveys the room. She makes the mistake of making eye contact with Clarke, who is throwing her a knowing look. Emori quickly averts her gaze, opting to look at her other classmates gathered here to help her with her showcase piece. This might turn out how she imagined it, after all. And all thanks to John Murphy.

Emori and her group practice all weekend, since she has to teach them the entire dance, but no one seems to mind. They were all quick to jump in, and eager to learn the choreography. Set to John’s music, everything is starting to come together. The only test now is to perform it for Charmaine.

Charmaine Diyoza is a very hard woman to please. Emori is a bundle of nerves as they work through the piece under her watchful eye. She can’t even tell if Charmaine is enjoying herself, since she has the world’s most advanced poker face. All Emori can do at this point is rely on her team and hope for the best. They all know what they’re doing, and they’ve worked hard to get to this point.

Charmaine cracks a small smile and gives a polite nod once the piece is over.

“I’m impressed,” she says to Emori. “This isn’t what I expected from you, but the whole thing is absolutely stunning.”

Emori beams, letting out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Thank you so much, Charmaine.”

“And who is the music by?”

“That would be John,” Emori answers, patting his arm.

Charmaine nods. “I stand corrected, Mr. Murphy. Perhaps weed isn’t your only personality trait.”

“I like to keep people on their toes,” John says.

“I look forward to seeing how this grows between now and the showcase. Keep up the good work, Emori, and some company is bound to snap you up.” With that Charmaine leaves the studio.

Emori stands in shock, firmly rooted to her spot. With each passing day she gets closer and closer to achieving her goal, and now with the end in sight she can’t believe how far she’s come.

“Let’s take five, guys!” John shouts, breaking Emori out of her trance. He puts an arm around her shoulder, shaking her a bit, a large smile on his face.

“I feel like I don’t know what just happened,” she admits.

“I’ll tell you what happened. Your department head loved your piece because you’re talented and hardworking, and you took some risks that really paid off.”

Emori’s heart warms hearing John say those words. When did he get to be her biggest fan? She pulls him into another hug, this time allowing herself to linger, nestling her head into his shoulder. She didn’t think she would ever enjoy holding him close, but now she finds herself wanting him in her space all the time. And it’s becoming harder and harder to fight those feelings back.

“What are you doing this weekend?” she asks, pulling away before her cheeks heat up and her mind wanders too far. “We should celebrate.”

John laughs. “What, are you going to venture outside for once?”

Emori pushes his arm playfully. “Shut up. Clarke is singing backup with this guy’s band on Friday. I promised her I’d go. Do you wanna come?”

He pretends to consider this for a moment. “If you’ll be there, I guess I can add it into my schedule.”

“Oh, you have to pencil me in, now?”

“Nah, you’d take priority.”

Emori has to hold back a giggle. She’s not normally like this, but John seems to have a weird effect on her that no guy ever has. But she can’t say she minds.

Friday rolls around and as much as she’s looking forward to seeing John outside of rehearsal, she’s also incredibly nervous. She hates going out to begin with. All the pressure to look good, overpriced drinks, having to deal with crowds and long lines to get into clubs. It’s not worth it, when Emori can stay warm in her apartment with her wine. But tonight is different. She didn’t technically ask John out, but she’s never really invited a guy anywhere. So she basically asked him out, even if she didn’t use those words.

Emori hasn’t gone on a proper date for the entirety of her college career. A few people have tried to ask her out, but she’s always come up with some sort of excuse. She didn’t have time for distractions. She doesn’t really have time now, but John’s entire being is distracting to her, so at this point she feels she might as well lean into it. She’s still not completely sure whatever this outing with John is, but depending on the vibes she gets from him, she might count it as a date. And she’s not mad at the thought of that.

Emori sheds her jacket once she finally makes it into the club and goes straight for the bar. She orders two shots of whiskey and quickly downs them both once they’re placed in front of her. A little liquid courage might help her out tonight. She scans the room, looking for somebody she knows. That’s the one downside to never going out. Emori has no clue who she’s supposed to hang out with until she finds John. They should’ve coordinated to come together, so she kicks herself a little for not thinking of that.

“Emori!” Clarke calls as she makes her way over to the bar. Emori lets out a sigh as her friend nears her.

“Hi!” Emori shouts over the music. “When is your set?”

“In like twenty minutes. Cillian is letting me do a duet with him, so I get to be up front for a while, too.”

“That’s exciting!” As much as Emori doesn’t love Cillian, she’s glad that Clarke is happy about getting a chance to perform for a bigger crowd.

“Enough about me, that’s not why I came over here. Where’s Murphy?”

Emori’s glad it’s too dark for Clarke to see her blush. “I haven’t seen him yet.”

“Well you’d better be making good on your promise to tell me whether or not he’s a good kisser tonight.”

“I never promised you that.”

“You can promise it to me now. I should go finish getting ready, but have fun.” Clarke winks at her before rushing backstage to keep warming up.

Emori stands by herself for another two minutes before she feels a hand rest on her shoulder. She frowns before turning to see John, smiling at her.

“Hi, you came!” she shouts, pulling him in for a hug.

He chuckles. “Yeah, I said I would!”

“Well I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too.”

Their moment is interrupted by Cillian’s band beginning their set. Emori smiles, taking John’s hand and pulling him into the crowd. As much as Emori isn’t a fan of Cillian, she can’t deny that his band’s music is good. The beat is infectious, causing everyone in the crowd to move along with them. And Clarke has so much fun onstage. Whether she’s singing or dancing, she always looks right at home, and Emori loves seeing her friend let loose in this way. It makes her want to let loose, too, especially as those shots she had earlier really work their way into her system.

Emori shakes her hips to the beat, circling around John as the song continues. His eyes roam appreciatively up and down her body as she goes. She smiles at him, slightly annoyed that he’s taking so long to dance with her. She speeds up the process, grabbing his hands and pulling him in so that he has hold of her waist. They move together, bodies pressed against each other. Staring into John’s eyes, Emori almost forgets that they’re in the middle of a crowded club. Nothing else matters, just the two of them dancing together as Emori wonders how it would feel to just throw caution to the wind and press her lips to his. She doesn’t yet, not wanting to cross that bridge in this moment. But the heat working its way through her body lets her know that she should make a move tonight.

Cillian’s band’s set ends after about half an hour, a half hour filled with Emori and John in close proximity to each other. It’s a normal thing for them, seeing as they have to be in each other’s space to dance together, but there’s a certain gravity to the way he’s touching her tonight. He lingers, always keeping a hand on her, not letting go. She loves it. Emori brings him backstage so they can say hi to Clarke, and he keeps his hand on the small of her back the whole way.

“Clarke! You were amazing!” Emori says, bringing her friend in for a hug.

“Thank you! And you had fun, just like I said you would. It’s not as scary to go out as you make it sound.”

“Debatable. But I’m having a good time tonight.”

“Does any of that have to do with Murphy?” Clarke mumbles under her breath.

Emori blushes, looking over her shoulder to find John standing off to the side talking to the band’s guitarist.

“Emori, you should go for it,” Clarke continues.

“I don’t know, Clarke. What if it’s a bad idea?”

“What’s the worst that could happen? It’s almost senior showcase, so even if it does end up blowing up in your face, you can never see him again once this is all over. But I don’t think it will. He’s into you, you should totally make a move.”

“Maybe. We were gonna go get pizza, do you wanna come?”

“You guys go. I’m supposed to hang out with the band.”

“So then I guess I won’t see you at home later,” Emori says, doing an admirable job of suppressing her eye roll.

Clarke shrugs. “Maybe. Maybe not. Have fun and be safe!”

This time Emori does roll her eyes, but she smiles to herself as she turns back to John. She wants this to happen so badly, and tonight might be the night things work out in her favor.

Emori and John leave the club, walking close together so their shoulders touch as they go to the late night pizza place that Sanctum students frequent on the weekends. It’s still early, so the place isn’t crowded and Emori and John are able to stake out a table in the back away from everyone else. They trade small talk as they eat, Emori laughing at all of John’s dumb jokes, but they mostly sit in silence. Emori likes silence, and she loves it with John. It’s effortless to be quiet with him, and she can revel in the way he looks at her. She’ll never get over the little crooked smile that only she seems to bring out of him, the way his eyes dart down to his paper plate every time their eye contact is sustained for too long. She doesn’t even feel embarrassed that she’s a blushing mess in front of him, because he is in front of her as well.

Once their slices are gone, they start walking back towards campus. They stroll aimlessly, neither of them ready for the night to end.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” Emori says after a moment.

John nods. “Yeah, me too.”

He stops them on the sidewalk, turning to face her. Emori’s heart thrums in her chest as he takes her hand in his, eyes firmly set on her lips. It’s happening. He leans in and Emori lets her eyes flutter shut as his lips find hers. She hasn’t kissed anyone in a while, and her mind goes haywire as the kiss continues. Her arms wrap around John’s neck as he holds her waist, keeping them steady, which is good since Emori might have fallen over from how much she’s melting into his touch. The kiss is amazing, soft and deep, and Emori loses herself in the feeling. She feels like an idiot for ever denying the way she felt about John, for waiting this long to do something about it. But it was so worth the wait. She never wants to stop kissing him.

Eventually she does pull away, resting her forehead on his as they catch their breath.

“I don’t wanna sound too forward, but do you wanna come back to my place?” she asks.

John grins. “I’d like that.”

She smiles, leaning in to kiss John again before taking his hand and leading him back to her apartment.

Emori wakes up to the feel of soft kisses on her neck. She smiles to herself as she blinks herself awake, rolling over to find John in bed next to her, a goofy grin on his face. Recounting the events of last night puts an even bigger smile on her face and she leans in to kiss him. They make out lazily, Emori taking a moment to keep memorizing the feel of John’s touch. He’s been intoxicating from the moment she met him, but now she actually allows herself to enjoy it.

She pulls away and he pouts, causing her to laugh.

“I have to check the time! We have rehearsal, after all.”

“You’re so on top of things, and I find that very sexy,” John says before pressing more kisses to her neck.

Emori sighs as she reaches onto her nightstand for her phone. It’s almost ten, and they have rehearsal at eleven. They should definitely start getting up.

“Come on, I’ll make breakfast,” Emori says.

“Kind of smells like someone already made breakfast.”

Emori frowns, throwing on her Sanctum sweatshirt and a pair of shorts before exiting her bedroom. She didn’t think Clarke was home, but as she goes out into the kitchen, she’s surprised to see her there. Clarke is standing by the coffee pot, pouring herself a mug as she waits for the pancake she was making to be ready to flip.

“Good morning,” Clarke says cheerfully.

“Were you here last night?” Emori asks.

“Well I almost went back to Cillian’s, but I kept hearing your rational voice in the back of my mind telling me that a 26-year-old probably shouldn’t be hanging out with a college student voluntarily. I did make out with him, though, but it was only okay.”

Emori nods, glad that Clarke saw some sense, but a little worried she heard things.

“So what time did you get back?”

“Early enough to hear that Murphy seems like a good kisser,” Clarke says, waggling her eyebrows.

Emori’s face heats up, but she can’t help the smile that forms on her face. She had a nice night, sue her.

“Is someone making pancakes?” John asks as he walks into the room in his clothes from the night before. He stops short when he sees Clarke, his cheeks burning bright red.

“Morning, Murphy!” Clarke says. “Do you want one?”

“Sure, thank you.”

“There’s coffee, too, if that suits your fancy.” She points to the cabinet with the mugs before turning back to the stove.

John nods, walking over to the cabinet to pick out a mug. Emori kind of loves this. Though she’s a little embarrassed Clarke heard them last night, the way that John seamlessly fits into their Saturday routine makes her heart sing. It’s almost as if he was missing from it to begin with. Emori puts the kettle on for her tea and sits down on the kitchen counter as the three of them chat.

They finish breakfast and make their way to the dance building for rehearsal. John and Clarke seem to get along swimmingly, and Emori is glad that they like each other. It’ll be nice if John ends up hanging around. They haven’t talked about it at all, but she wonders what John wants to be. They’re both seniors. Is there an expiration date on this? It’s a little wild for Emori to be thinking all of these things in the first place, when they’ve only had sex once, but there’s something about him that makes her want to throw caution to the wind and just be with him. She can’t explain it, and it’s so unlike her, but she loves it.

As they walk into the studio, Emori is thrown to see Sterling standing among the group of dancers. And that he’s on his feet again.

“Sterling?” Emori says.

He turns to face her, his smile bright as ever.

“Emori! I’m feeling a lot better, and Fox was telling me about rehearsal, so I thought I’d come and learn everything before showcase next week,” he says.

Emori is stunned. She didn’t think Sterling’s ankle would be better before showcase. She figured she would just perform with John. She can feel John tense beside her, but she’s not sure what to do.

“Wow! I’m so glad you’re better. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, though. Are you sure you’re ready to jump back in?”

“Yeah, I’ve never felt better.”

Emori’s stomach drops as she turns to John beside her. His jaw is clenched, and she hasn’t seen him look this upset before. She takes his hand and leads him back into the hallway so they can talk privately.

“John, I don’t know what to do,” she says to him.

“Just tell him you’ve got it under control. It’s not like you’re in need of a partner anymore.”

Emori sighs. “I know that. But Sterling is the most talented male dancer in our department. He was my original partner for a reason.”

John chuckles. “I see how it is.”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t need me anymore, I get it. I know you care a lot about getting an offer from a dance company, but it’s not always about talent. You can’t act like you and Sterling have an ounce of the chemistry we do.”

“John, I didn’t mean to upset you. I didn’t think you’d care, it’s not like you wanted to do this that much in the first place!”

“I was doing it because I care about you!” he shouts.

Emori is taken aback, shocked by his words. If the circumstances were different, she’d probably be excited to hear them, but him saying them with such bite behind them makes her uneasy.

“This doesn’t change how I feel about you,” she continues, taking his hand. “This doesn’t change that for me. And I’m so glad last night happened.”

John shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“What?”

“I hope dancing with Sterling works out.” He pulls his hand away from her and turns to make his way to the exit. Emori watches him go, dumbfounded at what just occurred. This is not at all how she expected her morning to go. She wants to cry, upset at ruining things with John before they’d even started. This is why she hates getting attached to people. They just end up leaving. But this time it’s her own fault. She steadies herself, blinking back the tears that threaten to form. She has to lead rehearsal, and she has to teach Sterling an entire dance before next week. She has a lot of work ahead of her.

Emori and Sterling spend extra time together after they’ve rehearsed with everyone else, so she can teach him the moves one on one. Sterling is a talented dancer, but the added hip hop additions that John had helped put together don’t come easily to him. It’s not the same, and Emori feels ready to cry again at how different the piece feels without John by her side. She didn’t realize how much she needed him here with her.

“Emori, I love the piece, and I think it looks amazing. But I’m not sure this is working out,” Sterling admits after a couple more hours of work, with very little to show for it.

Emori nods. “Yeah, I understand. I appreciate you trying, though.”

“It’s gonna look great no matter what. I know it will.”

He gathers his things, leaving Emori alone in the studio. Once she sees him walking back up the pathway and away from the building, she finally lets tears fall. For all her careful planning and no nonsense attitude, this whole thing has really blown up in her face. She alienated the one person she cared about, desperate to have her showcase be the best it could be. John was probably right. It would have been at its best with him. But there’s no way she can ask him to dance with her again, now. Not when she was so quick to let him go when Sterling turned out to be okay. The worst part is, she’s not even all that upset about her showcase piece. She’s a terrific dancer on her own, and she can easily modify the choreography to make her part a solo. She’s upset that she’s ruined whatever she could have had with John before they even had a chance to explore it. It almost makes her wish last night didn’t happen at all.

Emori takes a deep breath before standing up and working through the piece alone. She’s worked too hard and made it too far to get so close to the finish line only to give up. It won’t be hard to modify now that she’s by herself. She knows she has what it takes, and though playing the music back makes her heart ache just a little as she thinks of John, she thinks of how grateful she is that a part of him is still with her for her showcase piece.

**_______________________**

Emori feels ready for senior showcase, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a bundle of nerves leading up to it. She can’t focus on anything the day of, opting to skip her other classes to get in some last minute practice. Her entire college career has led up to this, and she wants it to go over well. She’s worked so hard, and all that work is about to pay off. She’s incredibly grateful for her classmates who agreed to do the piece with her, she’s grateful to John for his music, even though they haven’t spoken since she tried to take Sterling back as her dance partner. A couple times in the past week she’s wanted to go to the music building and try to find him, to apologize. But every moment she almost worked up the courage to find him, she thought better of it. The way things ended, Emori knows he doesn’t want to see her. She fucked up, and she wouldn’t want to talk to her either.

Emori eats a small dinner before heading to the dance auditorium to prepare for the evening. She puts on her make-up and warms up with her friends, a palpable excitement running through the air as they continue getting ready. They’ve all worked so hard, and agents and representatives from some of the biggest dance companies in the country get to see them perform their thesis work tonight. Emori bounces up and down, shaking off her last minute jitters as Charmaine makes a speech before the showcase begins. She stands next to Clarke in the wings.

“This is it,” Emori whispers.

Clarke smiles and nods. “This is it.”

“Emori!” comes a loud whisper from behind her. Emori frowns and can’t hide her surprise when she turns to see John behind her.

“John? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to dance with you. I warmed up and everything.”

Emori is shocked. “I don’t understand. I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Yeah, I was upset. But we’ve worked so hard to get to where we are, and I wanted to be with you when all your hard work pays off.”

“I’ve modified the steps so I can do it by myself. I’ll be okay, you don’t have to pretend to be nice to me.”

He takes her hand and looks her in the eye. “I’m not pretending. I want to see this through.”

Emori’s stomach flips at the earnest look on his face. Nobody’s ever looked at her that way before, and it should scare her a lot more than it does. But if he’s willing to trust her after she messed up, she wants to let him back in.

“Do you remember the steps?” she asks, breaking into a smile.

He grins back. “Of course I do.”

“Okay, then. Let’s do it. We’re on in five.”

Emori alerts the rest of her dancers that they’re going back to the original routine and she readies herself in the wings on stage right. It’s the moment of truth.

The music begins and Emori’s group filters onto the stage in a round, just like in her wildest dreams when she originally envisioned this piece. She and John come together center stage, going through their combination like it’s second nature to them. Emori’s never felt more at home on stage than she does in this moment with John by her side. Their lift is the best it’s ever been, and for a moment Emori feels like she’s flying. She lets herself go, losing herself in the music and the steps. It’s moments like these that make all of Emori’s work seem worth it. She’s having the time of her life, dancing under the hot lights, completely forgetting about all the important people in the audience. It’s just her and John, together again and she couldn’t be happier.

The applause once the dance is over is thunderous, and Emori has to hold back tears as they take their bows. She and her group hustle off stage and she’s quick to pull John into a long hug once they’re backstage again. She missed his touch, can’t believe she almost messed things up for them. She’s not sure he’ll want her back, but at least they were able to have this last moment together if he doesn’t want to be with her after all.

“Thank you, John,” Emori says into his shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” he answers, pulling away to look at her.

“I really am sorry about the whole thing with Sterling. I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean, yeah, his technique is miles ahead of yours. But that doesn’t mean he’s a better partner for me.”

“It hurt a little in the moment, I’m not gonna lie. But I get what was going through your mind.”

“I’ve felt so terrible the past week. Knowing that I hurt you. That I messed things up before we even got a chance to figure out what was going on.”

He brings a hand to rest on her cheek, and she leans into the touch.

“Hey,” he says. “I just needed to step back for a second. Last weekend meant a lot to me, and I needed time to think. But I wanna be with you, Emori. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about anyone before.”

John’s words send Emori’s heart aflutter. She wanted so badly to hear them and now that she is, she almost can’t believe it’s real.

“I wanna be with you, too,” she says, barely a whisper.

John lets out a quiet chuckle as he leans in to kiss her. She loses herself in him again, and with her kiss tries to sear into his lips a promise that she won’t hurt him like she did before. He’s only just come into her life, but he’s become such an important part of it so quickly, in more ways than one.

“If you two are through,” comes Charmaine’s voice from behind them.

Emori and John spring apart. She almost forgot they’re still in public.

“Lovely job, you too. Emori, the piece really came together,” Charmaine continues.

“Thank you so much,” Emori answers with a smile.

“I’ve had quite a few people ask about you already. I gave them your email, so you should expect to be hearing from some people by the end of the weekend.”

Emori’s heart soars at Charmaine’s words. She almost feels like she’s dreaming.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say.”

Charmaine chuckles. “You have a bright future ahead of you. I can’t wait to see what you do.”

“Thank you, Charmaine,” Emori says as her department head walks away. She’s still in disbelief as she turns to look at John again.

“You did it!” he says, shaking her and pulling her in for another hug.

“I don’t believe it!”

“Well believe it. You worked so hard for this, Emori. I’m so proud of you.”

She grins at presses another quick kiss to his lips before wrapping her arms around him and holding him as they stand backstage to watch the next piece. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to feel anything other than contempt for John Murphy, but now she can’t imagine what her life would be without him. He snuck his way in so effortlessly and she never wants to go back to the way things were. Emori lets herself feel all the things that normally frighten her with John, and she’s glad that he makes them all feel worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! Let me know what you think.
> 
> If you liked this, remember I'm still taking BLM prompts! I'm writing for Memori, Bellarke, or AU Murven, though you can always DM me if you'd like more information or there's something else you're interested in. 
> 
> And as always, come find me on [Tumblr](https://queenemori.tumblr.com/)!


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